- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) and El Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) are pleased to announce a call for proposals to provide $25,000 in seed funding to teams of UC and Mexican researchers with beginning projects in basic and applied collaborative research, instructional development, and public service and education projects that apply research to public issues.
The primary objective of the program is to enable the establishment of new collaborative initiatives with the potential for creating permanent ties between UC campuses and Mexican institutions that will grow and continue with the support of other institutional and extramural funds. Grant recipients are expected to use the seed funds to undertake the preliminary research necessary to develop proposals for extramural funding. Projects funded are expected to lead to development of major, long-term collaborations; significant advancement of scholarship in the natural sciences, physical sciences, engineering, computer sciences, social sciences, or humanities; strengthening of academic and research capabilities of the participating UC and Mexican institutions, especially in Mexican regional universities and institutions outside of the traditional Mexican research centers; the development of innovative binational instruction or new courses or degree programs; and/or public service and education programs addressing critical issues in Mexico or in the United States.
Each proposal must be co-directed by an eligible Principal Investigator from a UC campus and an eligible Principal Investigator from a Mexican institution of higher education and/or research center that is part of the Registro Nacional de Instituciones y Empresas Científicas y Tecnológicas (RENIECYT). Proposals must be jointly submitted by eligible UC and Mexican collaborators by Monday, February 25, 2019.
Please see the UC Mexus Program website for more information regarding this opportunity: http://ucmexus.ucr.edu/funding/grant_collaborative.html
Please contact the Office of Contracts and Grants at ocg@ucanr.edu with your upcoming proposal plans to the UC MEXUS Collaborative Grants Program.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is seeking individuals to serve as technical reviewers. Reviewers will evaluate and make recommendations to CDFA on proposals submitted for funding to California's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The Technical Review Committee consists of representatives from government and non-government organizations. Technical Review Committee members will attend one training webinar in November 2018 and one in-person review in March 2019 to make recommendations on concept and grant proposals.
The SCBGP is a competitive solicitation process designed to enhance the competitiveness of California specialty crops. Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). Grant awards will range from $50,000 to $450,000 per project and projects may last for up to two years and six months.
The 2019 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) solicits projects within the below funding categories:
• California Grown Promotion
• Specialty Crop Access and Nutrition Education
• Equipping Current and Next Generation Specialty Crop Farmers
• Environmental Stewardship and Conservation
• Plant Health and Pest Management
All individuals interested in serving on the Technical Review Committee must submit a completed application form and a copy of their résumé to grants@cdfa.ca.gov. Applications to serve as reviewers are due this Friday, October 26, 2018, by 5 p.m.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the grant-making process, develop your own grant-writing skills, and contribute your knowledge and experience in specialty crops to CDFA's efforts to select high-quality programs and organizations for funding.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is expanding and refining the FFAR Challenge Areas for 2019. FFAR funds innovative research to solve food and agriculture's most pressing problems, which are defined by the Challenge Areas. The original Challenge Areas, established in 2016, funded projects and programs that helped the U.S. in feeding ourselves and the world. To continue supporting cutting-edge research, FFAR is updating the Challenge Areas to ensure alignment with existing research gaps and rapid impact.
As food and agricultural researchers, FFAR is seeking your input on this Challenge Area 2019 realignment. If you are interested in learning more about FFAR's funding priorities and/or providing comments on identified gaps and needs to inform the development of the 2019 FFAR Challenge Areas, please consider participating in the FFAR Public Meeting scheduled on Friday, October 12, 2018 from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM PT.
You may register to attend the Public Meeting at the following link: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efp9lhrg72c4b0b2&oseq=&c=&ch=
Join the call: https://www.uberconference.com/ffarwebinar
Optional dial in number: 202-753-0348
No PIN needed
FFAR is also accepting Challenge Area refinement comments online: https://foundationfar.org/ffar-challenge-area-realignment-2019/
Challenge Areas under consideration for realignment are as follows:
- Healthy Soils, Thriving Farms - FFAR will expand our view of soil health in the future by looking at linkages between soil health and many other dimensions of the food system. The Healthy Soils, Thriving Farms Challenge Area aims to increase soil health by building knowledge, fueling innovation, and enabling adoption of innovative practices. FFAR is expanding and exploring transdisciplinary approaches that draw linkages between soil health and farm productivity, economics, human health, management practices and other areas. FFAR will continue to support research that provides open, data driven, innovative science that allows farmers to make the most productive and sustainable decisions to conserve and improve soil health while supporting thriving farms.
- Sustainable Water Management - Of strong interest are opportunities to diversify production systems that could result in climate resilience and efficient production systems, and innovative practices that could result in cross-sectional improvements in agricultural water productivity from crop to livestock production that incorporate best practices in soil management and sustainable grazing methods. The Sustainable Water Management Challenge Area aims to increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture, reduce agricultural water pollution and develop water reuse technologies using a coordinated landscape approach. This Challenge Area will continue work on water efficiency throughout the production chain, improving crop and livestock varietals and breeds toward water conservation, increasing the social and economic tractability of water-conserving technologies and practices and enhancing extension services support to reduce water scarcity.
- Advanced Animal Systems - This Challenge Area evolved from the former Protein Challenge, which included plant proteins. Plant proteins are now part of the Next Generation Crops Challenge Area. The Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area will use innovative technologies and environmentally-sound practices to enhance animal production systems. FFAR-funded research will promote health- and welfare-oriented animal production systems for the for a growing global population. There will be a strong emphasis on the use of big data and sustainable practices that benefit producers, animals and the public.
- Next Generation Crops - The Next Generation Crops Challenge Area aims to develop non-traditional crops and new economic opportunities for conventional crops, increasing crop diversity, nutrition and profitability. FFAR will support the advancement of novel, nutritious, profitable and resilient on-farm crops. There will be a strong emphasis on increasing crop diversity and use of new technologies to benefit consumers, producers and the environment. Research approaches will focus on innovative technologies and environmentally-sound production practices combined with the discovery and development of new end uses for both conventional and non-traditional crops. This area will include advanced breeding methods and development of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
- Healthy Food Systems - This new Challenge Area contains the former Food Waste and Loss and Making My Plate Your Plate Challenge Areas. In combining these areas FFAR hopes to improve food systems once food has left the farm to table. The Healthy Food Systems Challenge Area addresses inefficiencies in the food system to improve food and nutrition security and human health through sustainable food production practices. FFAR will support innovative, systems-level approaches aimed at reducing food and nutritional insecurity regionally, nationally and globally in a broad socioeconomic and environmental context. There will be emphasis on innovative and sustainable production of nutritious foods, novel processing and packaging technologies, transformational approaches that increase access to food, groundbreaking food waste reduction strategies and the development of methodologies to predict the supply of and demand for individual crops.
- Urban Food Systems - This Challenge Area has become more focused on research gaps in the urban setting. For example, while many industry partners are focusing on the economics of vertical farms from the lighting and heating and cooling perspective, FFAR will focus on breeding potentially high-value plants in this setting. The Urban Food Systems Challenge Area will support innovative, systems-level approaches aimed at reducing food and nutritional insecurity in a broad socioeconomic and environmental context. This area supports multiple aspects of food and agriculture in an urban setting. There will be an emphasis on transformational approaches that connect multiple dimensions of urban environments.
- Innovation Pathways to Sustainability - Because projects in this area typically fit into other Challenge Areas, Innovation Pathways to Sustainability will no longer be a stand-alone Challenge Area. Barriers to innovation adoption will be addressed in the Challenge Areas to which they pertain.
- Rapid Outcomes for Agriculture Research - FFAR will continue the Rapid Outcomes for Agriculture Research (ROAR) program to provide rapid response research funding in the case of a food or agriculture emergency.
- Other FFAR Priorities - FFAR will also continue to develop programs and projects to propel students and retain researchers in food and agriculture research.
- Many technologies and methods will be used and tested in FFAR's upcoming programs and projects. These include blockchain, data analytics, robotics, sensors, open source platforms, artificial intelligence, new genetic technologies, and systems approaches to food and agriculture that consider sustainability, farm profitability, and health. These and other innovative approaches may be used across Challenge Areas.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announces the release of the "Draft Final Dairy Research Prospectus to Achieve Senate Bill 1383 Climate Goals" (Prospectus) for a two-week public review period.
The Prospectus includes recommended research concepts to address knowledge shortfalls and dairy emissions research needs in California, particularly those related to methane. The Dairy and Livestock Subgroup #3 (Research Needs, Including Enteric Fermentation) developed the Prospectus after soliciting methane-related dairy research ideas from the general public, dairy industry, researchers, government agencies, environmental justice advocates, and other stakeholders. The Prospectus will provide guidance to funding agencies and stakeholders for future research projects that will aim to improve the understanding of California dairy emissions and methane mitigation strategies.
The Dairy and Livestock Subgroup #3 (SG#3) was formed to: (i) identify dairy research needs to improve the emission estimates of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), especially methane (CH4), associated with dairy operations in California, (ii) better understand the potential to reduce CH4 emissions from manure through the implementation of mitigation strategies while understanding the air quality and other environmental impacts from the implementation of those strategies, and (iii) better understand the potential to reduce CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation. SG#3 held a series of public meetings to discuss past and current research in the dairy sector. Through this process, SG#3 identified the knowledge shortfalls and dairy emissions research needs in California. SG#3 subsequently developed this Dairy Research Prospectus to Achieve California's SB 1383 Climate Goals with a broad range of research ideas gathered from the stakeholders including working group members, dairy industry, researchers, government agencies, environmental justice advocates, and others. These ideas formed the basis for the recommended project concepts. Information obtained from such research should improve the understanding of dairy emissions and effective SLCP mitigation strategies. Focused implementation of CH4 emission reduction measures should achieve the goals of Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383).
If you are interested in providing public comments, please review the Prospectus and submit written and/or oral comments HERE.
Comments are due to CARB by October 10th, 5:00 PM PST.
Please contact the Office of Contracts and Grants should you be interested in planning a research project that addresses the research needs and recommendations defined in the prospectus.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is expanding and refining the FFAR Challenge Areas for 2019. FFAR funds innovative research to solve food and agriculture's most pressing problems, which are defined by the Challenge Areas. The original Challenge Areas, established in 2016, funded projects and programs that helped the U.S. in feeding ourselves and the world. To continue supporting cutting-edge research, FFAR is updating the Challenge Areas to ensure alignment with existing research gaps and rapid impact.
As food and agricultural researchers, FFAR is seeking your input on this Challenge Area 2019 realignment. If you are interested in learning more about FFAR's funding priorities and/or providing comments on identified gaps and needs to inform the development of the 2019 FFAR Challenge Areas, please consider participating in the FFAR Public Meeting scheduled onFriday, October 12, 2018 from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM PT.
You may register to attend the Public Meeting at the following link: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efp9lhrg72c4b0b2&oseq=&c=&ch=
FFAR is also accepting Challenge Area refinement comments online: https://foundationfar.org/ffar-challenge-area-realignment-2019/
Challenge Areas under consideration for realignment are as follows:
- Healthy Soils, Thriving Farms - FFAR will expand our view of soil health in the future by looking at linkages between soil health and many other dimensions of the food system. The Healthy Soils, Thriving Farms Challenge Area aims to increase soil health by building knowledge, fueling innovation, and enabling adoption of innovative practices. FFAR is expanding and exploring transdisciplinary approaches that draw linkages between soil health and farm productivity, economics, human health, management practices and other areas. FFAR will continue to support research that provides open, data driven, innovative science that allows farmers to make the most productive and sustainable decisions to conserve and improve soil health while supporting thriving farms.
- Sustainable Water Management - Of strong interest are opportunities to diversify production systems that could result in climate resilience and efficient production systems, and innovative practices that could result in cross-sectional improvements in agricultural water productivity from crop to livestock production that incorporate best practices in soil management and sustainable grazing methods. The Sustainable Water Management Challenge Area aims to increase the efficiency of water use inagriculture, reduce agricultural water pollution and develop water reuse technologies using a coordinated landscape approach. This Challenge Area will continue work on water efficiency throughout the production chain, improving crop and livestock varietals and breeds toward water conservation, increasing the social and economic tractability of water-conserving technologies and practices and enhancing extension services support to reduce water scarcity.
- Advanced Animal Systems - This Challenge Area evolved from the former Protein Challenge, which included plant proteins. Plant proteins are now part of the Next Generation Crops Challenge Area. The Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area will use innovative technologies and environmentally-sound practices to enhance animal production systems. FFAR-funded research will promote health- and welfare-oriented animal production systems for the for a growing global population. There will be a strong emphasis on the use of big data and sustainable practices that benefit producers, animals and the public.
- Next Generation Crops - The Next Generation Crops Challenge Area aims to develop non-traditional crops and new economic opportunities for conventional crops, increasing crop diversity, nutrition and profitability. FFAR will support the advancement of novel, nutritious, profitable and resilient on-farm crops. There will be a strong emphasis on increasing crop diversity and use of new technologies to benefit consumers, producers and the environment. Research approaches will focus on innovative technologies and environmentally-sound production practices combined with the discovery and development of new end uses for both conventional and non-traditional crops. This area will include advanced breeding methods and development of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
- Healthy Food Systems - This new Challenge Area contains the former Food Waste and Loss and Making My Plate Your Plate Challenge Areas. In combining these areas FFAR hopes to improve food systems once food has left the farm to table. The Healthy Food Systems Challenge Area addresses inefficiencies in the food system to improve food and nutrition security and human health through sustainable food production practices. FFAR will support innovative, systems-level approaches aimed at reducing food and nutritional insecurity regionally, nationally and globally in a broad socioeconomic and environmental context. There will be emphasis on innovative and sustainable production of nutritious foods, novel processing and packaging technologies, transformational approaches that increase access to food, groundbreaking food waste reduction strategies and the development of methodologies to predict the supply of and demand for individual crops.
- Urban Food Systems - This Challenge Area has become more focused on research gaps in the urban setting. For example, while many industry partners are focusing on the economics of vertical farms from the lighting and heating and cooling perspective, FFAR will focus on breeding potentially high-value plants in this setting. The Urban Food Systems Challenge Area will support innovative, systems-level approaches aimed at reducing food and nutritional insecurity in a broad socioeconomic and environmental context. This area supports multiple aspects of food and agriculture in an urban setting. There will be an emphasis on transformational approaches that connect multiple dimensions of urban environments.
- Innovation Pathways to Sustainability - Because projects in this area typically fit into other Challenge Areas, Innovation Pathways to Sustainability will no longer be a stand-alone Challenge Area. Barriers to innovation adoption will be addressed in the Challenge Areas to which they pertain.
- Rapid Outcomes for Agriculture Research - FFAR will continue the Rapid Outcomes for Agriculture Research (ROAR) program to provide rapid response research funding in the case of a food or agriculture emergency.
- Other FFAR Priorities - FFAR will also continue to develop programs and projects to propel students and retain researchers in food and agriculture research.
- Many technologies and methods will be used and tested in FFAR's upcoming programs and projects. These include blockchain, data analytics, robotics, sensors, open source platforms, artificial intelligence, new genetic technologies, and systems approaches to food and agriculture that consider sustainability, farm profitability, and health. These and other innovative approaches may be used across Challenge Areas.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)